Raiden's Demise
by Zane Longsharks
Summary: Jut my novelization of the most epic cutscene of Mortal Kombat 9. Raiden vs Shao Kahn! I promise its worth the read. xD


The skies above were as red as freshly spilled blood. Dark storm clouds brewed over the distant mountains and infrequently released bolts of green lighting. A solitary raven cruised lazily through the dead atmosphere; releasing a loud shrill caw it banked towards the earth. It descended over a scene from the wildest daydream of a demon. A field, completely barren of any vegetation; as if though it had been stripped by some malign force. Its sole features were gravel, boulders, dust and corpses. A battle was evident, and the hounds of hell stalked the battleground freely feasting on the vanquished souls. Death had come calling in every shape and form. The raven cruised over the body of man who had been apparently crushed to death by the two gigantic skeletal hands from the ground which still clenched him firmly; his mouth was still open in a final death scream. Nearby laid another man, facedown and undignified in the dirt, a sword of pure ice thrust through his back pinning him to the earth. Attached to that man's hand was a rope which led to a blade that was stuck into the ground in a pool of blood a few feet away. The raven cawed and continued its flight, passing over the foot of a pyramid where a monster was slumped against the wall. Its upper body cleaved in twain apparently by a hat which was still embedded in the ancient stone behind it. Its blood coated the ground below it in macabre decoration. Not far from that was the decapitated head of another man, sinew still dripping blood from the remains of what used to be a neck. A pair of shattered sunglasses lay near to the face. The raven then passed over the gore soaked body of a woman; she had been sliced cleanly in half. A vulture picked at the remains of her entrails, the bigger bird looked up at the raven's pass and cawed angrily. The raven moved on, it slowly rode the air currents to the peak of the pyramid, passing more bodies and more death. People of all description and their ends just as varied but with only one thing in common: violent.

Finally the bird reached the top, here at least there was still life. Two figures still moved. Two figures were still locked in combat around a blazing pit of fire. The bird circled overhead, cawing as it observed eagerly.

The two men faced off. The first was a giant, he towered over his opponent. Clasped around his shoulders was a cape of a deep crimson. He was bare-chested except for a harness bearing a skull insignia. The rest of his outfit included spiked shoulder pads, spiked gauntlets, a red loincloth, and sandals. His body was scarred and hardened, his musculature godlike. The upper part of his face was obscured by a warhelm shaped in the likeliness of a skull; orange catlike eyes glowed with an eerie light from beneath. The warrior appeared to be more monster than man; his eyes gleamed even fiercer as he smiled across at his opponent making the scars on his face draw tight.  
The other man returned the gesture with a look of unearthly fury. This man was covered from head to toe in black. His robes, cuirass, and shoulder pads were all dark. He also wore a large brimmed hat which covered most of his face. At his right breast was fastened an amulet of swirling blue light. Despite being shorter than his opponent he gave off an aura of great power. At odd moments a spark of lighting discharged from his body to the ground. His eyes were red, and the hate they reflected bordered on madness. He however, showed signs of fatigue and damage; his chest heaved deeply and his face was bruised with one eye almost swollen shut.

The two observed each other for a second then, with a loud yell, the man clad in black reengaged the battle. In a flash of red light he was gone, vanished into thin air. The taller man began to turn, his cape billowing about him but he was a fraction of a second too slow. His opponent had appeared behind him and like a bullet shot from a gun he impossibly flew forward, his hands outstretched in a pushing gesture. He made contact with the other while he was still in half turn and forced him clean off the ground, flying him along.  
**"BADDI BADDI BI!"**  
The dark clad man's battle cry echoed along the Pyramid Peak. His opponent groaned in pain as a hundred jolts of electricity tore through his body; released into him by the smaller man as they soared towards the edge of the pyramid. Before they could reach the other warrior stomped down with herculean strength; bracing his feet against the rock below and bringing the flight to an abrupt halt. He spun around slamming his elbow down directly into the thunder man's face and knocking him to the side effectively stopping the attack. The large warrior laughed as his opponent scrambled to his feet, a large welt on the side of his face where the elbow had connected.  
"You are weak Raiden!" The large man called out.  
He stepped forward and held out his hand as if gripping something, a moment later something was indeed there. A spear made out of green light. With a roll of his massive shoulder he expertly tossed the spear. It hummed as it soared through the air, its tip gleaming in anticipation of blood. The one dubbed Raiden leapt into the air to avoid it but unfortunately his opponent was ready for just such a move. With a yell the large man shot into the sky, defying physics, in a haze of green light. His knee connected solidly with Raiden's chin, breaking a few teeth and sending him tumbling to the ground with a grunt of pain.

The large warrior landed on his feet with a large thud and another derisive laugh. But Raiden was far from finished. Once again he struggled to his feet, spitting blood and teeth fragments. He gestured with a hand for the skull themed madman to come at him. With a loud battle cry the warrior obliged him by charging. Raiden yelled and charged forward himself. The two met in the center of the pyramid once more. Raiden smoothly ducked the opening punch and quickly retaliated with a powerful palm strike to the center of the other's chest. The larger man backpedaled a step from the force of the attack but was otherwise unaffected. Raiden immediately followed up with a deadly uppercut which the other man slapped away before bringing the elbow of his other hand down on Raiden's shoulder. Raiden staggered back with a grunt of pain but lashed out with his foot, catching his enemy in the side. The bigger man merely shrugged it off and came in once again. He telegraphed a right hand towards Raiden but the thunder warrior dodged to the left only to run straight into the man's left hand.  
Too late had he seen the feint, the punch connected solidly with the side of his face dazing him. Before he could recover, an iron grip had tightened around his throat and in a second he found himself hoisted high in the sky. Raiden was helpless to guard himself against another vicious fist to the face. This one shattered his nose and sent him flying several feet away.

He impacted with such force that he cracked the stone floor below and his hat flew off. The fallen thunder warrior lay still as his conqueror approached. He was close to losing consciousness from the beating. The man looked down at Raiden for a second, contempt in his eyes.  
"Where are the elder gods Raiden?" He asked before laughing arrogantly.  
He swooped down and easily lifted Raiden from the floor with one hand by the front of his cuirass. "Their pathetic mortal kombat shackles me no longer." He said bringing Raiden eye to eye. He tightened his grip on Raiden then with his free hand he cruelly and calmly began hitting the thunder warrior in the face repeatedly with the gauntlet on his forearm. The spikes on the gauntlet slashed and brutalized Raiden's face until blood ran freely and it was almost unrecognizable.  
_You are needed…._  
Finally the warrior seems to tire of his ministrations to the other's face. His powerful biceps tighten with a hint of effort as he turned and flung Raiden up into the sky. The fallen thunder warrior flew, this time not of his own will and not half as gracefully as before. His amulet fell from his garb and shattered upon the ground. He soon followed, impacting hard enough to create another spider web of deep cracks. He tried to rise but fell back to the ground coughing blood. His conqueror approached relentlessly.  
"They masquerade as dragons," He rumbled as he came. Out of nowhere a large battle hammer glowing with green light had appeared in his hand as he walked. "But in reality are mere toothless worms."  
Raiden dazedly turned over onto his back. The large warrior stomped down upon Raiden's chest hard enough to break bone, causing the god to take a sharp painful breath.  
"My venom spreads," The dark champion said in a low voice. "It is the end of all things." He looked up at the sky and held his hands outstretched as if though embracing the blood red heavens. The halo of green light surrounding his hammer slowly transformed into orange, and the orange light from his hammer began spreading to encompass his whole body. He seemed to grow in stature without truly growing in height and an ominous wind picked up. When he spoke again his voice resounded as if it were the voice of many. "Armageddon!"  
"Stop!" Raiden cried out from mashed and bloodied lips in pain and desperation. His pleas fell on deaf ears.  
"It is done." The other man said quietly. He bent and easily hoisted Raiden to his feet. "Your time has passed." Again he threw the smaller man into the air.  
_Give ear to my cry….. _

Raiden soared through the air once more before coming down hard near his shattered amulet. He looked at it blankly for a moment, his body in too much pain for his mind to function. Finally something clicked. The defeated warrior crawled toward the amulet with his last remnants of strength. He gathered the fragments together in his hands.  
"Ages wasted in foolish resistance," The conqueror said in derision as he once again approached, slow and irresistible as death itself. "Now is the time of my rule."  
Raiden began speaking softly over the dull fragments. He chanted in an unknown language.  
_You are the last hope…._  
The conqueror laughed when he noticed Raiden's action, he leisurely walked to the defeated one's head and looked down upon him with open loathing.  
"Yes," he hissed out. "Pray to the worms."  
The dull fragments sparked with electricity before glowing as Raiden continued his chanting, now with urgency.  
"As your world ends!"  
The conqueror brought his hammer down in a final blow to Raiden's head. Raiden's eyes turned blue and shot sparks as he called out three last words before the hammer's impact.  
"He must win!"  
_HE MUST WIN!_


End file.
